


Church

by Writingfangirlforhire



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gladiators, Dean Has Magic, Fallen Angel Castiel (Supernatural), M/M, Magic AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-05-30 19:47:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19410157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writingfangirlforhire/pseuds/Writingfangirlforhire
Summary: Dean is a magical healer, studying to become a Cleric in the Church. One day a new Executioner is brought into the arena and it is Dean's job to heal this fallen angel after the fights. Dean may not be able to speak to him but the fallen angel speaks to him anyway. The angel makes the halls of the church and the arena feel less lonely. A bond grows between the two that might lead to something freeing.





	Church

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Original Animatic | CHURCH](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/494122) by EmptyFeet. 



> Hi Y'all! This fic idea came from this wonderful video https://youtu.be/r0s0E_WsqvQ  
> It's an animatic of the song Church by Fall Out Boy, done by EmptyFeet on YouTube and it heavily inspired this fic.  
>  Also no one writes Dean as a Magic being fics and that needs to change. Anyway, enjoy!

_ The screaming woke him up, oh the screams. His dad was screaming, his baby brother was screaming. Fire was everywhere. _

_ He ran into his brothers bedroom, fire licking out of the doorway. His father was screaming in pain looking up at the ceiling. _

_ There she was, she looked like a goddess up there. Surrounded by fire but not quite burned.  _

_ "Dean take you brother!" His father yelled at him, shoving baby Sammy into his arms. He ran, ran out of the house and across the street. He was terrified. _

_ It was all his fault, he was sure of it.  _

_ He should never have let the flames dance out of his fingertips like that. And now his mom was dead. He didn't know how to stop the fire. _

_ It was everywhere. _

_ It was all his fault. _

Dean woke up gasping. Even after all these years, after they found out that the fire was actually caused by a demon. After all that time, Dean still had nightmares about having caused the fire. Going to Hell didn't exactly help his pyrophobia, but it did make his control stronger.

Dean sat in his small room looking down at the marks over all his arms.

**Magic User. Healer.**

That's what the symbol on his chest meant. It was a binding rune, binding his magical strength to the Church.

He'd been only 4 years old when his family's home in the village had been burned down. Dean had always feared that it was his fault. But at the age of 19, after traveling the country with his father for his whole life, it was revealed that a demon had cursed his brother Sam and burned their house down.

He died in the fight to kill it, using the last breath he had to send a magical blast of holy water into the bastards heart.

He went to Hell. 

He spent a considerable amount of time in hell, nearly a year on Earth. He rose in power. What he was made him not just a victim of hell, but eventually a servant. 

And then he was brought back to life.

His father had brought his body back to the Church, he had gotten a lower level magic user to put a spell on it so it wouldn't degrade, and then he brought his body and some of his possessions to the church. He struck a bargain with the Pope. Dean would become a servant of the church if the Pope brought him back to life. His soul would become property of the church.

And ever since Dean was brought back, he has lived in the church and served on its properties. Only seeing Sam once a year when he comes to visit.

He apprenticed under the Cleric for a couple years to learn all sorts of healing spells and such, he was naturally stronger and more talented than the Cleric, but the Cleric was wiser and more learned. One of the Cleric's jobs was to heal the Executioner. This is what got him killed.

The Executioner was a Demon under a binding contract that took away a good portion of it's Supernatural abilities and made it subservient, more or less, to the church. And it's job was to kill, Gladiator style, any criminal that the Church seemed worth of death.

This demon however got tired of it and one day killed the Cleric after getting his wounds fixed. The Cleric was now dead and the demon got its own execution in form of banishment back to hell.

The new Executioner came shortly after Dean was promoted to the position of Healer.

This one was different than all the ones in the past. It was caught by bounty hunters sent by Heaven. 

It was an Angel. 

This particular Angel had rebelled against Heaven's plans in order to save a human child. Heaven then shunned it and gave it to the Church as a new Executioner, powers muted but still strong. It was branded with the Executioner Rune and locked away till the first execution the next day. 

It was a long battle as the Angel could no longer just smite the rapist it was executing. It came away with more than just a few wounds from its first fight. And that is where Dean first met it. Him.

"Healer! Come here immediately," the Captain yelled as they drug the Angel to be washed. Dean hurried over, feeling the runes on his body warm up as he prepared to cast healing magic.

There were cuts all over the body of the Angel. His exhausted eyes found Dean's as he looked up wearily. Bright blue sadness met light green compassion as Dean extended his hand, two fingers bent, one partially bent and the other two extended, towards the Angel he motioned his other hand in a circle to cast the healing. He felt pain drawn into his body, keeping his face from showing it he took a second to calmly try and regain his breath, the price for his magic.

The Angel's face showed relief as his wounds glowed and were no more. Dean felt his heart burn for the first time in years. This Angel was the most beautiful man Dean had ever seen.

_ "I don't know if they took away your ability to hear my thoughts Angel,"  _ Dean projected,  _ "But I'm sorry you are here." _

Dean turned silently to the Captain cocking his head in question. The Captain waved him away.

Dean wished he could tell the Captain to treat the Executioners better, but the Silence Binding kept his mouth sewn shut when he wanted to speak.

Dean went back to his room to do the required studies for the day. The priests were slowly trying to make him a full blown Cleric, they believed that Dean was capable of the amount of faith required for that. Dean hated it, but Clerics were allowed to speak and travel, so he was trying.

That night he dreamt of blue eyes and a voice spoke to him on his dream, deep and kind  _ "Thank you, Healer." _

……

Dean practiced with the Monks and Clerics in the courtyard most days. They practiced martial arts and melee weapons practice so that they could be safe in their travels. After Dean finished his rounds of Healer duties, he'd join them in practicing. They all mostly liked him. There was a monk named Ash who recognized him as his father's son, and promised to deliver letters to Sam whenever he went out on journey's.

Today however the Monks and the Clerics were not practicing most of them were out of town and those that weren't were in a meeting. Dean practiced by himself today. He practiced some of his magical attacks too, never anything with fire. He refused to do any fire magic.

As he was practicing he looked up at one point and made eye contact with the Angel as he was locked in his room. Bars where there should be windows, making up what more resembled an open hallway than what should be a room. The Angel smiled at him.  _ "Good afternoon Angel,"  _ Dean projected to him with a smile. Dean went back to his practice, and noticed the Angel copying his motions. He smiled to himself, and vowed to silently from a distance teach the Angel to fight like he does.

There is another execution later that day, but this one was quick. The Angel did not need healed after this one, so Dean does not see him.

That night in his Dream, Dean is practicing in the Courtyard, an entity without a distinct identity is practicing beside him.

…….

Dean watches the Executioner today. It's been a couple months since the Angel came to be the Executioner, and he does a good job at it. The fight is brutal, the Angel is up against a Traitor. A trained knight who tried to assassinate the Pope. 

It is a tough battle and Dean knows he'll be going to heal the Angel after this because he's getting cut up a lot.

It's to be a double execution today and that is why Dean is here. There's never double executions, so he's curious as to what is going on. 

His heart stops when the knight gets killed and the second victim gets pushed into the ring.

It's a child. 

The Angel stops too. He just looks at the child, who's trembling with fear. Couldn't be more than 8 years old. 

_ "Please Angel, spare him." _ Dean can't help but think. He wants to call out but as soon as he tries to open his mouth to do so, he feels like it is sewn shut. 

The Angel kneels next to the child, begging for forgiveness and telling the child that he is loved.

The soldiers whip the Angel. A cat-o'-nine-tails rips into the Angel's back as he stands and protects the Child. After 5 whippings the Angel has crumbled to the ground.

Dean runs down into the Basement where he knows they will drag the Angel. His tunic flutters with the speed at which he runs. When he gets there, he sees dead bodies all around. People that were getting executed, but not going into the arena. He finds the Angel being dragged, nearly dead himself.

The Captain snaps at Dean, "Come fix this worthless thing!"

Dean does, the pain of healing the nearly dead Angel almost makes Dean pass out. He crumbles to the floor gasping for breath after he's done. The Angel, finally conscious again looks him in the eye and finally speaks out loud. "Thank you," he whispers, the same voice who has been visiting Dean's dreams. Dean placed his hand on the Angel's shoulder with a pained smile.

_ "My pleasure Angel." _ Dean thinks to him as the Angel gets yanked away to be thrown in his cell.

……..

Dean doesn't see or hear from the Angel for a couple weeks, he was seriously getting concerned. He tried to speak to the Angel through his thoughts, and watched the cell as he practiced in the courtyard. But he never caught sight of the Angel and no voice came to him in his dreams.

Dean felt lonelier than he had in a long time. For the past few months it had felt like he had someone he had a connection with, and then the Angel got taken away and he felt that loss deeply. 

He couldn't even properly enjoy the letter that Ash brought from Sam, who was apprenticing with a folklorist and studying about the history of the Supernatural. All he could think of was his Angel.

He finally got to see the Angel again. 

They'd thrown him in Isolation for his insolence and they'd been starving him. So they had Dean magically heal him enough for him to fight without passing out. He had several executions today, so they couldn't have him weak. 

Dean felt the hunger and weakness absorb into him as he made the motion to cast strength into him. He lost his breath and felt his knees buckle and his hands shake. He made eye contact with the Angel, who had color returning to his face and was actually standing up straight now. The Angel looked more pained seeing Dean carry his weakness for a few seconds than he had when he was the one lacking strength.

"I'm sorry," he said under his breath as the soldiers pulled him away. 

Dean shook it off, breathing deeply as he stood up straight. He felt an ache in the space where his binding rune was on his chest.

The Angel didn't get hurt during the execution, and Dean overheard the soldiers saying that he'd been particularly ruthless today.

That night he slept better than he ever had and he heard that voice in his dreams.  _ "I'm sorry for causing you pain, Healer."  _

For the first time ever Dean was able to reply in his dream,  _ "Anything for you Angel." _

_ "Please, call me Castiel." _

That was the last thing Dean remembered before he woke up.

……..

_ Castiel _ .

The name played around in his head like a child in the fields. It felt ever present in his mind. Castiel, Angel of Thursday, seraphim of the Lord, Protector of Children. Dean did his studies. Knowing the name of the Angel interacting with you gave you power over the Angel. Like with the Fae, where if you give the Fae your name they can take you. But if an Angel gives you it's name you hold a certain bond with it, it's more aware of you and must protect you if you call out its name. Most Angel names are written down in books about the holy servants of the Almighty, and there is always more about each angel with that name. 

Castiel had a bit of some interesting lore about him in the books. Soldier of Heaven. Incredibly strong and well trained. But his weakness is his love for humanity. The books all tell a story about Castiel being a guardian shepherd to wanderers and those lost in dangerous areas, leading them to safety. Castiel always had a soft spot for children, wanting to protect them and their innocence even more than any other human.

After what Dean read on Castiel it made sense that Castiel would refuse to execute the child. 

Later that day he was practicing in the courtyard, he looked up to Castiel's chamber as he did so and called out in his mind,  _ "Castiel, Angel, do you hear me?" _

Very faintly Dean felt a presence in his mind and though there was no word response, he knew that Castiel could.  _ "Thank you for not killing the child." _

………..

It had been four months since Castiel was brought in as the Executioner.

Today Dean was made a Cleric. He passed his Clerical Tests of Abilities with flying colors, and cheated his way through his Clerical Test of Faith by having an unwavering faith of Castiel instead of God, but because Castiel is of Heaven, the test couldn't tell the difference.

He only had 14 more hours of the binding spell on his mouth. He was a Cleric and would soon be released to travel and speak. The spell that keeps him silent would end in 14 hours. As would the spell that keeps him stuck in the Church. 

14 hours till Freedom.

Castiel had another execution today and this would be the last one Dean was there for. Dean and Castiel could never have a conversation, not even in Dean's dreams. However, Dean told him as he was awake and practicing in the Courtyard this morning, that it would be his last time healing Castiel today and he was gonna miss him and promised to come back and free him when he was stronger. Castiel could only reply to Dean when he was asleep, but Dean felt the presence of the Angel and the feeling of congratulations.

But then the execution was going to happen.

Dean saw the girl they were leading in, there were rarely females getting executed so she caught his attention immediately. The next thing he noticed was that she was pregnant. He heard some of the soldiers jeering at her, calling her a whore. He felt an anger bubble up within him. Her crime was that she had been forced to become a prostitute, bedding men out of wedlock. She was pregnant from one of those men and looked rather ill. 

Dean felt rage as he rushed to go watch, hoping Castiel would save her. 

As soon as Dean had eyes on the Angel he started praying,  _ "Castiel I know you can hear me. This execution, it's a young woman, she is pregnant. Please don't kill her, please. Have mercy on her."  _

Castiel's head shot up and he looked right at Dean anger shown on his face at the news he was given he turned away but nodded.

They shoved the woman into the ring with only a dagger to protect herself with. Castiel walked towards her calmly and pulled her into a hug. He hadn't refused to fight anyone in a while so there weren't any soldiers in the ring to stop him.

He got about 10 seconds to hug her before the soldiers broke in and attacked. They were trying to attack her and they were trying to attack Castiel at the same time. It didn't go well. Even with their magic strength to help them it took much longer to defeat Castiel than it should have, and three soldiers ended up dead. The girl got cut but was otherwise fine. 

Dean ran. He ran to the basement where they drug Castiel. The Captain looked like he didn't want Dean to heal the Angel, but Dean did nonetheless.

He fell to his knees in pain. His heart hurt seeing Castiel like this and the pain and lack of breath from healing the Angel made him fall to the ground. As Castiel's wounds magically healed he crawled forward enough to lean his forehead against Dean's.

"Thank you," he muttered, his arms came around Dean's back to hug him and they breathed together for a second, feeling the connection, the draw to each other. Dean tilted his chin a bit on instinct and need. A light brush of their lips together with the only person here that made him feel not alone.

They were torn apart a second later.

Immediate execution was announced for both of them. They were pulled into the Sanctuary where the Banishings happen. Castiel was thrown onto the alter and bound so that he could not leave. An angel blade was given to one of the priests. 

Dean's magic coursed through his veins and he sent a blast of wind towards the priest, knocking him off his feet. A blade was pressed to his chest and he felt the slice. The rune that connected him to the healing magic of the church was cut. Cutting him off from the Church forever and the magical power it contained. Dean lost his breath completely, gasping for air desperately. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a boy being lead by soldiers, they had the Rune maker with them. The new Executioner probably.

Dean looked up at Castiel who had also noticed the boy watching them in fear.

Castiel screamed and fought against the blessed ropes holding him down. Dean, crumbled on the floor from where they dropped him after cutting his rune watched as the priest raised the angel blade. 

Dean was on his feet and roundhouse kicking the priest before the blade could even start it's descent. He had now idea how he crossed the room so fast but he now has the blade in his hand and he cut the ropes holding Castiel. Using another blade he stole off a guard while running Dean sliced the rune that blocked Castiel's powers.

Castiel grabbed the child that they were going to force to become the new Executioner and grabbed Dean around the waist and disappeared. They were outside the church courtyard and running like Hell Hounds were after them.

After a long time running and a couple of transportations they got to a village far enough away that they could safely spend the night there.

The little boy's name was Jack, he was a nephilim. Dean had just finished tucking Jack into bed in the room they had rented at an Inn, and he turned to Castiel. 

"Thank you Healer," Castiel finally spoke. "I'm sorry about your rune getting cut, your magic was always so beautiful." 

Dean held up a finger, with a small bit of hope and a lot of fear, he snapped his fingers and a little flame dance on his finger tip. Castiel's face lit up and he grinned. "You're a natural magic user? That's a miracle! You don't talk, though, did they bind your mouth, now that I have my powers back I can fix that." Castiel reached to touch him but before he could Dean felt it, the 14 hours were up. 

He raised a hand to stop Castiel.

"My," Dean tried, it came out as a rasp, "My name is-" his words were airy and his throat hurt from having not used his voice in years. Castiel touched his forehead and all of a sudden his throat felt much better. "My name is-" Dean tried again, this time it came out clear and strong, "My name is Dean." 

Castiel grinned, he pulled Dean close and kissed him gently. When he pulled away he grinned at Dean. Happy blue eyes met happy green ones. 

"Hello Dean."

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed Y'all!


End file.
